Weft-fork.



No. 700,860. l PATBNTED MAY'24, 1904.

- J. H. FOSTER.

WEET PORK.I

f APPLiQATIoN FILED 00.5.1903.-

" Fig.. .l

Z V Z Y John Hfsten",

' ing from the upper side of the fork is asheet- No. r760,860.

' AUN ITED v STATES. 'PATENT'.l OFFIOE. 1

Patented May 24, 1904.

JOHN` H. FOSTER, or FALLRIvER,MAssAOHUsErTs WEET-FORK.

si'ncrnrcArroN forming part q`f 1.eaer Patent No. 760,860, dated May 24,'1904.

` Appiimimi `61th Ajlgusi 5,1903.I serial No. 168,631. un mean.)

To all whom it .may concern- Y Be it known that I, J OHN H'. FOSTER, acitizen of the United States, residing at -Fall River, in the county ofBristol and State' of Massachusetts, have invented new and 1usefulImprovements in VVeft-Forks, of which the following is a specification..I This invention relates to weft-forks, and it constitutesv an.improvement upon the fork patented to me April 7, 1903, No. 724,563.1

The-.objects of the present invention are to render. the operation ofthe tilting-weight more delicate and capable of, ready adjustment, toactuate the fork-returning lever by the weft-hammer instead of by thelay, and to render more accurate the action of the parts which operatethe stop-motion. I

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a weft-forkembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Fig.8 is a cross-section of the same on the line m, Fig. 2. j

The sliding carriage 1` has at its front end a hook 2 for connectionwith the stop-motion, which is operated by a movement' of the carriageto the left in the figures of the drawings. At its back end the carriagehas two jaws 3,be tween which the weft-fork is suitably pivoted on atransverse axis. The fork has tines 4, curved backward and downward, anda tail, lying along the upper part of a longitudinal slot 6 in thecarriage and resting normally on a cross-bar'7 just in front of thepivot. Rismetal standard 8, whose upper end carries a weight 9,preferably a lead cylinder, around which the upper portion of thestandard 8 is wrapped. The axis of the cylinder is parallel with thepivot of the fork, andv by bending the standard toward the front or backof the carriage the cen-ter of gravity of the weight can be altered tobring it either exactly into or a little to one side or the other of thevertical plane of said pivot, so that the delicacy of action of the forkcan be very accurately adjusted and altered as circumstances mayrequire.

In my patent aforesaid the reseating-lever is actuated by the lay atevery stroke. In the present invention this lever is actuated by the iweft-hammer 10 'at every alternatestroke of the lay,-V thus savingone-half ofthe strain and wear and tear. The lever is preferably made ofwire and has an arm 11, overlying the taill of theweft-fork, and twoside bars 12, connected by a V-shaped bail portion 13, which drops downthrough the slot in the carriage and preferably carries on its lowerportion an antifriction-roller 14. rlhe side bars are suitablyv pivotedon the carriage, preferably by being connected with washersl'lconcentric with the pivot of the fork. Shoulders 16 preventj the sidebars from slippingoif. The weft-hammer carries a cam 17, which engageswith the bail 13 at every other stroke-,of the lay when the shuttle isin thebox at the same end of the loom as the fork. The cam -lifts thebail and withI it the arm 11,fthus leaving the fork free to be tilted.The weight of the reseating-lever causes it to return to its normalposition when the cam is withdrawn. If desired, the roll 14 may be madeheavy to assist the reseating action. f

In my patent aforesaid there is shown a swinging plate on the tail ofthe fork, which is lstruck by the the weft-hammer and forced againstabutments on the carriage. I have found in practice that the plate formis not desirable, because it presents too much surface to the shouldersorabutments, and unless it hangsexactly parallel to them it is liable tothrow some strain on the axis of thev fork. Moreover, it will at timesswing forward too far and striking the upper surface of the carriagefail to be interposed between the abutments and the weft-hammer. I haveover- 'come these faults by substituting for the plate a link 18, havingrounded surfaces, (the link being made, preferably, of round wire.) Theupper ends of the abutments 19 are beveled to coperate with the roundedlink and guide it into place. To prevent the link from swingp ingforward too far, the tail of the fork is provided withlaterally-projecting lugs Ajust in front of the link, which serveasstops'to limit its forward swing. These lugs also serve anotherpurpose. In weft-forks much trouble has resulted from what is called therebound Much of this is caused by the fact that the .fork rests on thecross-bar 7, which forms a IOO stop for the long unsupported tail nearits aXis. When the tail is checked suddenly at this point in itsdownward movement, its weight and the weight of the reseating-levercause it to rebound. I overcome this by providing a rest or stop at theend of the tail, the same being the material of the carriage justforward of the abutments or shoulders 19, on which the lugs 20 strikewhen the tail comes down.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principle ofoperation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I nowconsider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but I desire to haveit understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that theinvention can be carried out by other means.

I claim- 1. A weft-fork having a standard on its upper side, capable ofadjustment lengthwise of said fork, and a counterbalancing-weightpermanently secured to said standard.

2. A weft-fork having a sheet-metal standard rising from its upper sideand a weight attached to said standard.

3. A weft-fork provided with means for positively returning it to normalposition, and a weft-hammer constructed to operate said means.

4. The combination with a weft-fork, of a reseating-lever, and aweft-hammer having means for lifting said lever.

5. The combination with a weft-fork, of a reseating-lever, and aweft-hammer having a cam for lifting said lever.

6. The combination with a weft-fork, of a reseating-lever pivotedconcentric therewith, having an arm lying across the tail of the fork,two side arms, and a depending bail portion between said arms.

7 The combination with a carriage having a slot, of a weft-fork and areseating-lever pivotally supported on said carriage, thereseating-lever having a bail portion depending through said slot, and aweft-hammer vibrating in said slot and having acam to engage with saidbail portion.

8. A weft-fork having a link hinged thereto and provided with means tolimit the swing of said link.

9. A weft-fork having a link hinged thereto, and provided withlaterally-projectinglugs to limit the swing of said link.

10. `The combination with a weft-fork carriage having abutments beveledat their upper end, of a weft-fork provided with a link having roundededges.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN H. FOSTER.

Witnesses:

ARBA N. LINCOLN, EDMUND DOMINGUE.

